A special message from Bonnie Kaye
How is it when the con-men in the book selling business like Brien Jones goes out of business, he can still continue to cheat his authors even further? Unbelievable, isn’t it? Well, it seems like con men always find partners, especially in the state of Indiana where government views “fraudulence” as “bad business practices” rather than a crime.
Authors first were sent a letter by Brien Jones several weeks ago bemoaning his “hard luck” in the publishing industry. To special “friends,” he sent this letter, making each of them think they were getting some special personalized letter—which they weren’t. Almost everyone I know has received this with the name and the book title being the only thing that is different. Here it goes:
Dear _________________,
Enclosed is the letter we sent to all of Jones Harvest Publishing authors and vendors. Unlike some of those folks you were always a friend and supporter, and you deserve an explanation as well as my advice on where to go from here.
Six months before we closed I sent a long letter explaining the huge challenges we faced selling books and asking for suggestions.
The short version is bookstores didn’t pay when they ordered our books. JHP had to pay to ship books with an invoice. That was after we paid to print the books. If a store ordered a copy of _________________, they paid nothing. But I had to pay to print and ship the book.
If the bookstore ever paid they sent a check of 50%, but didn’t send that check to us. They sent that check to Baker & Taylor. Later B&T would send us a check for 40%. That was the best case scenario. More often we just received the front cover (stripped off to prove the book was unsold) often over a year later. I didn’t receive any suggestions.
That was with a Jones Harvest Publishing book. Getting even that far with a book from Authorhouse, Infinity or Vantage Press was impossible. When I said Xlibris I heard ‘click.’ Yet even against those odds, I tried to sell __________________ and the rest every way possible—more ways than you ever heard about. As with 99% of our titles I failed. It’s hard. And if you ever try selling somebody else’s book (or even your own) to bookstores you’ll find it’s also unpleasant.
By 2010 I spent half my day listening to bookstores hang up on me and the other half listening to authors that paid $950 to publish (usually less than we spent on the print run) complain about lack of sales. I have to admit I don’t feel very bad about giving up on some of those clients.
I do feel bad about you. You were one of the few that even acknowledged our website was free of vanity publishing information or that we had a bookstore. Most of our clients never noticed. I kept on trying anyway. The in 2011Borders closed 275 stores. Limping along and hoping was no longer possible.
To be a success in the self-publishing industry I would have to change everything. To survive I would have to be like all the rest and focus on selling authors their own books. That’s when I made an important discovery. I don’t want to be a success in vanity publishing.
I wish I could suggest another publisher that’s selling books, has a bookstore or even a website designed for that purpose. There aren’t any. The only subsidy, self or print-on-demand publishing companies with any promotion services are the same ones we’ve all known for years. They’re now offering “publicity” and “promotions” at appalling prices.
However, in my own search for a publisher, I concluded the best choice for you is Accurance, a company I’ve known about for a long time. I sent my books to them because:
1. They aren’t going out of business. They’ve been around since 1999 and growing.
2. Amost all books they produce are for other publishing companies—you’ve heard of most of them. It’s likely the publisher you choose uses Accurance for their production work (editing, book covers, typesetting/formatting, and conversion to eBook). Therefore you can cut out the middle man which takes us to price.
3. JHP could not survive charging $950 to publish because we were never POD. We always did print runs. Yet Accurance offers everything (for publishers) for $899. This is possible because of volume. They actually have a program for authors left in a lurch, because their publisher closed. (It’s not just JHP, there are many more with others to follow.) They have agreed to publish our books for $850.
4. They also answer the phone, or call you back quickly. They answer emails usually within minutes, at most hours. Most of the other companies I called answered electronically and sent me to someone’s voicemail.
There are plenty of companies out there promising the moon for $999 (but calling you from overseas.) I wanted the whole package including Kindle and REAL BOOKS with no surprises. My recommendation is Accurance. THE JHP bookselling plan didn’t work. But I would feel much better knowing you are receiving real books with good pricing, integrity, and stability.
To your books as fast as possible and at wholesale prices call Bill Earle, Author Partner Project Manager at Accurance at 1-727-550-6258. I have already transferred files for my books to them and can do the same for you.
I hope you have no hard feelings. I’m not walking away with a boat or an airplane (or even our house) and I truly tried. I hope you keep writing and trying to.
Sincerely,
Brien Jones
Let me say I found this letter—well—hysterical and pathetic and somewhat sociopathic as Brien Jones truly is. It was filled with lies and gross exaggerations for sure. But I will discuss that in my next update in the near future. For now, this is a WARNING to anyone who actually might be foolish enough to get burned one more time by this master of deceit.
But first, let me share with you the follow up letter that most of you have received by now from Accurance, the only company that Brien Jones trusts which has “republished” his books about the scary pumpkin and the crooked Vanity Publisher based on his own life story.
Accurance’s Bill Earle sent this letter to the list of Jones authors:
Hello! I wanted to touch base and introduce myself, Bill Earle if Accurance, Inc., since I was mentioned in the letter you should have received from Brien Jones. We are happy to be able to step in and offer our years of expertise to you for your current book that was published and future books. We have been around a long time and we aren't going anywhere.
Right now, we are concentrating everything on the Jones authors who were published with Jones. Those ISBNs are dead now so those books are no longer for sale. Even if sales were poor in the past for whatever reason, you don't have a chance at even one now.
Our Jones Publishing Package, is fast, high quality, as affordable as is possible, and most importantly - complete. Right now, the book you had published with Jones is no longer valid. The ISBN from Jones for your book is a dead account. We are honored to be able to offer you the fastest way back to the market for just $849 as Brien's letter stated:
1. We will revise your cover and interior - and that means as many revisions as you want or as few as changing the "Published by"
2. set up a new publishing account with Lulu.com
3. purchase your new ISBN
4. upload your new files
5. order and ship a proof copy to you
6. purchase and set up your new GlobalReach distribution to the Ingram database of all titles for sale - fresh to the market with a new ISBN and a new look in some cases.
We will also purchase and ship to you 9 more copies of your book at the end of the process before we turn over your new POD publishing account to you to monitor future sales and always order as few or as many copies of your own book at cost. It also all comes with expanded free revision cycles and unlimited email and phone support.
This package is not available on our website for obvious reasons. To purchase now simply go to our Misc. Services web page at :
http://accurance.com/index.php?go=services&goto=author&gotogo=authmiscservice and add to cart 849 units - they will be billed to your credit card of PayPal at $1 per unit. As soon as the purchase (always completely guaranteed) is made you will receive an introductory email from me with everything you need to know. Then, you can sit back and let us get you back in the book selling business the best way in the world we know how, at a price only available to you.
I will of course get back to calling you back as well.
Thanks!
Bill Earle
your author partner
Accurance, Inc.
(727) 550-6268
With the directions from Bill Earle, I did go to the link in his letter which led me to the Accurance website page where you can purchase the 849 units for $849.00. But then I took a moment to explore the rest of the website which led me to the page called “Author Services.” It was quite interesting seeing the pricing for authors who weren’t getting the special Jones Harvest deal. Of course he couldn't "list" this package on his website for obvious reasons--namely because you may have actually studied his prices for other authors. Well, I did it for you.
Here’s the irony of the special “Jones Harvest” pack.
Here are the the prices for the non-Jones Harvest author services:
Publishing Set Up Package $249
For the author who has viable, print-ready PDF files who needs set up with a POD publisher for worldwide print distribution (includes ISBN & Proof Copy). Your files will be uploaded, your ISBN will be purchased, you will receive a proof copy for final approval, and be distributed on the worldwide database serving potential buyers at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and many others.
Book Cover Creation $199
For the author who needs just the book cover (front/back/spin) designed. You will receive a print-ready PDF cover file. Package includes three (3) revision cycles until your cover is perfect for you.
There’s even this deluxe package:
The Whole Nine Yards Package - $799
Mechanical Editing/Interior Formatting/Custom Cover Design/Print Publishing/Distribution
Wow—editing your book and the rest of the whole nine yards. And it’s still less than the deal for Jones authors.
So let me see if I understand this. Accurance is getting the “viable, print-ready PDF files” from Brien Jones. According to their website, this is the Publishing Set-up Package they are offering for $249.00. If you decide to use them to redesign your book cover, the Book Cover Creation would cost $199.00. And that’s only if you want to have your cover redesigned. Otherwise, you can take off that charge. Okay—even if you want the book cover, that adds up to $448.00. Now, add in 9 additional copies at print cost—that’s approximately $36.00. So now we’re looking at less than $500.00 for the same services that Jones customers are charged $849.00. Hmmmm….
It gets even better. If you want the Ready-to-Sell Package & eCombo Package, according to their website, this will cost $799.00. And that includes all the wonderful services of the Publishing Set-Up Package, the Cover Design Package, and the eBook Package—all for less than the Jones Harvest Package. And even if you throw in the 9 extra books for $36.00, you’re still spending less than that special rate for the Jones Harvest package.
And guess what—if you take this route, you don’t even have a publisher. Accurance isn’t a publisher—it’s a set-up company that brokers you out to companies like Lulu where you are your own publisher.
Anyway, even before I did the math when I first learned of this new alliance between Accurance and King Con, I wrote Bill Earle a note:
wearle@accurance.com
Dear Mr. Earle,
Since we haven't met before, I did want to let you know that if you have developed any type of positive reputation for your company, you should think about how it will be affected now that you are working with Brien Jones. In case you’re not aware, Mr. Jones is under criminal investigation by various government agencies for fraudulent practices against authors. Since it didn’t faze him about screwing hundreds of people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, I’m not quite sure why you would want your name tarnished by being associated with him, but that’s your decision.
Please be aware that when I send out my update this week to over 600 Airleaf Victims and over 100 Jones Harvest victims, I will be mentioning your connection. Don’t expect great things to happen for you or your company because of that. I would really reconsider your relationship with him because it will really be a losing one for you and your company.
Best regards,
Bonnie Kaye, M.Ed.
www.Jonesharvestfraudvictims.com
www.Airleafvictims.com
To date, no response. Now I understand why. I wasn’t even aware of the “special Jones Harvest prices” when I wrote that letter to Mr. Earle.
I do have an extensive letter going out next week to all of our members of our Airleaf/Jones Harvest victim groups giving you updates of what is going on with the criminals who stole our money. However, in the meantime, I’m posting this on my blog to alert as many people as possible about this newest scam. Do not allow yourselves to become a victim one more time. For some of you, it’s happened more than once. Remember—anything associated with Brien Jones will take bring you to a dark place where you don’t want to go. Don’t fall into this pit hole again.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
JONES HARVEST UPDATE 10-21-11
This is a copy of the letter I sent out to nearly 600 of our Airleaf and Jones Harvest victims today updating the closing of Jones Harvest Publishing.
Dear Fellow Author,
I know it’s been a while since I’ve written to you, but I haven’t had any news to share up until now.
There is some good news—Brien Jones of Jones Harvest Publishing is FINALLY out of business. For almost five years, this man and his family members including his wife, nephew, and cousin have been defrauding authors, many of whom were originally Airleaf victims. In most states, the action of this con man would be considered criminal. But of course, in Indiana, it’s called “bad business” and not thievery. Go figure!
This information came to my attention three weeks ago when two authors who are not part of our original group saw my website at www.JonesHarvestFraudVictims.com and wrote to me. Both of them were unable to reach Jones by phone or email. Both of them had paid for services which were never received.
I then went to the Jones Harvest website at www.JonesHarvest.com. On there, as well as his other sites such as Celebrity Authors and My Perfect Heart, the same message comes up: Default Website Page with no further information.
An author received this message about Jones several days ago which appears to be from Facebook:
We're all done with publishing. I'm retiring to write myself. I have published THREE Children's books so I can tell you the best option, print-on-demand with black & white illustrations (if you don't have illustrations and need them I'm afraid it's even harder.
Brien Jones
Some of you are aware that Jones opened a bookstore in a strip mall in the middle of nowhere. Since he was unable to get author books into real bookstores, he rented his own with the money donated by two authors in order to have the store named after them, Bidwell Moore and Merlene Byars.
A former employee went there last week after hearing the news and found out from another store that the Jones store was closed due to non-payment of rent. I called several stores in the shopping strip where the store was located and they confirmed that Jones “snuck out” in the middle of the night due to non-payment of rent.
Another lesson I learned the hard way and want to pass on to you—it appears as if the Better Business Bureau is looking for money rather than truth when giving ratings to businesses. Brien Jones always fell back on that outstanding “A” rating given to him by the BBB. Over the years, with enough complaints that I encouraged JH victims to file, they gave him an A- rating. That would really scare people away, right?
When I found out Jones is out of business, I sent the Indiana BBB a very nasty letter on behalf of our victims telling them that I warned them numerous times about Jones Harvest and the fraudulence of Brien Jones, but they refused to listen. In fact, the day that I sent them the letter three weeks ago, the company was still posted as having an A- rating.
After I sent BBB my letter last week, the next day the following information was revised:
Jones Harvest Publishing
Phone: (812) 323-2330 View Additional Phone Numbers 5400 E. S R 45, Bloomington, IN 47408 http://www.jonesharvest.com ! BBB Business Review on Jones Harvest Publishing is being Updated by BBB!
On a scale of A+ to F Reason for Rating BBB Ratings System Overview
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of No Rating. The reason is as follows: This business has “no rating at this time because BBB file information is being reviewed and/or updated.”
And as of this week, the BBB page has been updated even more:
THIS BUSINESS IS NOT BBB ACCREDITED
Jones Harvest Publishing
! There is an alert on Jones Harvest Publishing ! (yep, in fire red)
When you click into the red link, it states:
According to information in BBB files, it appears that this business is no longer in business.
Well, I suppose that’s a little progress. It took hundreds of thousands of dollars to be ripped off from authors (as I reported to them on several different occasions) before the BBB changed the “A” status of Jones Harvest, but I guess better late than never. I guess.
There are over 100 JH complaints that I have received over the past four years about fraudulence to authors. Reading each one of them only made me shudder. When I warned authors about Jones, he tried to create havoc in my life threatening law suits. He had his attorney send me a letter warning me to “cease and desist.” I begged his attorney to take me to court so at least someone could tell a judge about his client. Of course, that never happened.
He took out a terrible website about me, www.Bonniekayevictims.com, but in time, dropped that because he didn’t feel like paying for it anymore. He started a blog for all of his authors writing horrible lies about me. He wrote to the Attorney General’s office that I was conspiring against him and that is why authors were contacting his office. He tried it all—but I refused to back down or take down the JH Fraud Victims site. Nothing gave me greater pleasure than when an author would write to me thanking me for the warning before they handed the money over to the Jones family.
It’s so “amusing” that Brien Jones would lie to authors and tell them that I owned the new company I went to for publishing again, CCB Publishing, and that was why I was promoting the company to my fellow authors. He could never understand how important the word “integrity” was to me. He didn’t know what the word meant—it was not in his vocabulary. Last week, I spoke to a senior citizen who paid Brien Jones $27,000 to produce several of his books. He was promised the “Star” treatment. That was two years ago. The author NEVER saw ONE of his books in print.
Brien Jones is a predator. He had his staff calling people in nursing homes to solicit them for money. Some of his past employees have called me with the horror stories of how horrible they felt doing this. Children of three different elderly authors have contacted me after their parents died waiting for books that were never printed. One story was so, so upsetting—the daughter told me her father’s last wish as he sat there dying was to see his book in print. She had called Jones Harvest to see why the book was seven months overdue, and they swore they were working on it. Her father died—he never saw his book.
Another sad part of this—besides scamming elderly people, disabled people, and new immigrants to our country with limited English skills—is the Christian population who believed in “Their Perfect Heart.” Under the guise of “Christian” books, in collaboration with Linda Ockels, who was reportedly infatuated with Jones, dozens of Christian authors were scammed into thinking that this was going to be “God’s Blessing.” Jones published stories from good religious people who were also victimized. This brings to mind a youth minister who contacted me two years ago because he had invested all of his savings of $2,700.00 into promotions and received a royalty check for ONE book. Jones responded, “I can’t make people buy your book.” No, I guess he couldn’t based on the fact that he never carried through with his promises.
I think my saddest story came from an author who spent over $16,000 with Jones to turn her children’s book into a Hollywood movie. I begged her not to listen to Brien and even called the companies he claimed were interested in pursuing her book. Of course none of the movie companies ever heard of her or her book. The author was very angry at me and asked to be removed from all future correspondence. Last year I heard from her. In the subject box was “Been Duked”
The author went on to say:
I was one of the Airleaf victims, and I foolishly believed Brien Jones with Jones Harvest Publishing, still wanting to believe, until recently when I noticed double $500 being drawn out of my bank account, and also looking back over maxed out Credit Cards, large charges from Jones Harvest were charged. Adding up expense statements I found (and there’s many more, unfound), but it adds up to over $16,800.00 they’ve already taken from me!! I didn’t authorize all of these large sums charged! I’m sorry I let Brien talk me into you being the bad guy! You opened my eyes about Airleaf, and it should have opened my eyes about Brien… but it didn’t! I was a fool, but now my eyes are wide open!
Trust me, I don’t receive any satisfaction when authors don’t heed my warnings. I am never one to say, “I told you so,” because I was tricked not only by Airleaf, but then again with Jones. But at the first sign of fraud, I turned and ran. I posted warnings all over, but some people just didn’t want to believe—until it was much too late.
For those authors who published with Jones, they will need to republish again. As we all know, once a publisher is out of business, our books are also off the market. When the Airleaf tragedy happened, I spent six months researching other POD companies because I didn’t want to make another mistake. I had already made three of them—one with iUniverse, one with Authorhouse, and then with Airleaf. I researched nearly 40 companies thanks to the database provided by Delhana. Through this research, I found my current publisher CCB Publishing. When I called the owner, Paul Rabinovitch, I knew that he had been primarily a “traditional” publishing company. I was so impressed with his answers that I asked him if he would be willing to consider doing my books as POD. I explained the tragedy with Airleaf, and I felt reassured this would never happen with his company. Unlike POD salesmen who try to sell you more and more, Paul was a publisher who told me what the realities were with POD publishing and how to get the most exposure. There were no false promises or extra “promotions”—just honest to goodness publishing.
My first book published with CCB went incredibly smoothly. Paul worked with me every few days on any issues, and within 4 weeks, my book was in print. Since that first experience, I have had six additional books published. My sales are excellent due to the large distribution channels the CCB finds for its authors all over the world. Most of my books are now in eBook format because that is how many of my sales are made. Most importantly to me as an author—my royalties are waiting for me every three months to the day. Half of the sales revenue is mine—not 20% or 30%. I can buy my books for $2.00 over the cost of printing, which usually runs about $6.00 a book instead of 50% off the cover price like other companies were charging me.
Over 50 of our Airleaf Victims found a home with CCB Publishing. You can read all of our testimonials on their website at www.CCBPublishing.com. You can write to Paul if you have any questions at info@CCBPublishing.com. Paul usually works 20 hours a day so you never have to wait more than a passing moment to get a response—ever.
CCB’s prices are better than most—and the service, quickness, and results are better than any publisher you can ever hope for.
So that’s my latest news. If you are a Jones Harvest victim and you would like to take action to see if you can retrieve any money back or at least try to press some kind of criminal charges, please email me and let me know. I will be happy to work with you and the others who want to see if there can be some resolve.
Also, if any of you would like to be on my Books of Excellence radio show on computer radio on Sunday evenings done via telephone and heard around the world, please send me a note and I will arrange it for you as time permits.
With love to you all,
Bonnie Kaye
Dear Fellow Author,
I know it’s been a while since I’ve written to you, but I haven’t had any news to share up until now.
There is some good news—Brien Jones of Jones Harvest Publishing is FINALLY out of business. For almost five years, this man and his family members including his wife, nephew, and cousin have been defrauding authors, many of whom were originally Airleaf victims. In most states, the action of this con man would be considered criminal. But of course, in Indiana, it’s called “bad business” and not thievery. Go figure!
This information came to my attention three weeks ago when two authors who are not part of our original group saw my website at www.JonesHarvestFraudVictims.com and wrote to me. Both of them were unable to reach Jones by phone or email. Both of them had paid for services which were never received.
I then went to the Jones Harvest website at www.JonesHarvest.com. On there, as well as his other sites such as Celebrity Authors and My Perfect Heart, the same message comes up: Default Website Page with no further information.
An author received this message about Jones several days ago which appears to be from Facebook:
We're all done with publishing. I'm retiring to write myself. I have published THREE Children's books so I can tell you the best option, print-on-demand with black & white illustrations (if you don't have illustrations and need them I'm afraid it's even harder.
Brien Jones
Some of you are aware that Jones opened a bookstore in a strip mall in the middle of nowhere. Since he was unable to get author books into real bookstores, he rented his own with the money donated by two authors in order to have the store named after them, Bidwell Moore and Merlene Byars.
A former employee went there last week after hearing the news and found out from another store that the Jones store was closed due to non-payment of rent. I called several stores in the shopping strip where the store was located and they confirmed that Jones “snuck out” in the middle of the night due to non-payment of rent.
Another lesson I learned the hard way and want to pass on to you—it appears as if the Better Business Bureau is looking for money rather than truth when giving ratings to businesses. Brien Jones always fell back on that outstanding “A” rating given to him by the BBB. Over the years, with enough complaints that I encouraged JH victims to file, they gave him an A- rating. That would really scare people away, right?
When I found out Jones is out of business, I sent the Indiana BBB a very nasty letter on behalf of our victims telling them that I warned them numerous times about Jones Harvest and the fraudulence of Brien Jones, but they refused to listen. In fact, the day that I sent them the letter three weeks ago, the company was still posted as having an A- rating.
After I sent BBB my letter last week, the next day the following information was revised:
Jones Harvest Publishing
Phone: (812) 323-2330 View Additional Phone Numbers 5400 E. S R 45, Bloomington, IN 47408 http://www.jonesharvest.com ! BBB Business Review on Jones Harvest Publishing is being Updated by BBB!
On a scale of A+ to F Reason for Rating BBB Ratings System Overview
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of No Rating. The reason is as follows: This business has “no rating at this time because BBB file information is being reviewed and/or updated.”
And as of this week, the BBB page has been updated even more:
THIS BUSINESS IS NOT BBB ACCREDITED
Jones Harvest Publishing
! There is an alert on Jones Harvest Publishing ! (yep, in fire red)
When you click into the red link, it states:
According to information in BBB files, it appears that this business is no longer in business.
Well, I suppose that’s a little progress. It took hundreds of thousands of dollars to be ripped off from authors (as I reported to them on several different occasions) before the BBB changed the “A” status of Jones Harvest, but I guess better late than never. I guess.
There are over 100 JH complaints that I have received over the past four years about fraudulence to authors. Reading each one of them only made me shudder. When I warned authors about Jones, he tried to create havoc in my life threatening law suits. He had his attorney send me a letter warning me to “cease and desist.” I begged his attorney to take me to court so at least someone could tell a judge about his client. Of course, that never happened.
He took out a terrible website about me, www.Bonniekayevictims.com, but in time, dropped that because he didn’t feel like paying for it anymore. He started a blog for all of his authors writing horrible lies about me. He wrote to the Attorney General’s office that I was conspiring against him and that is why authors were contacting his office. He tried it all—but I refused to back down or take down the JH Fraud Victims site. Nothing gave me greater pleasure than when an author would write to me thanking me for the warning before they handed the money over to the Jones family.
It’s so “amusing” that Brien Jones would lie to authors and tell them that I owned the new company I went to for publishing again, CCB Publishing, and that was why I was promoting the company to my fellow authors. He could never understand how important the word “integrity” was to me. He didn’t know what the word meant—it was not in his vocabulary. Last week, I spoke to a senior citizen who paid Brien Jones $27,000 to produce several of his books. He was promised the “Star” treatment. That was two years ago. The author NEVER saw ONE of his books in print.
Brien Jones is a predator. He had his staff calling people in nursing homes to solicit them for money. Some of his past employees have called me with the horror stories of how horrible they felt doing this. Children of three different elderly authors have contacted me after their parents died waiting for books that were never printed. One story was so, so upsetting—the daughter told me her father’s last wish as he sat there dying was to see his book in print. She had called Jones Harvest to see why the book was seven months overdue, and they swore they were working on it. Her father died—he never saw his book.
Another sad part of this—besides scamming elderly people, disabled people, and new immigrants to our country with limited English skills—is the Christian population who believed in “Their Perfect Heart.” Under the guise of “Christian” books, in collaboration with Linda Ockels, who was reportedly infatuated with Jones, dozens of Christian authors were scammed into thinking that this was going to be “God’s Blessing.” Jones published stories from good religious people who were also victimized. This brings to mind a youth minister who contacted me two years ago because he had invested all of his savings of $2,700.00 into promotions and received a royalty check for ONE book. Jones responded, “I can’t make people buy your book.” No, I guess he couldn’t based on the fact that he never carried through with his promises.
I think my saddest story came from an author who spent over $16,000 with Jones to turn her children’s book into a Hollywood movie. I begged her not to listen to Brien and even called the companies he claimed were interested in pursuing her book. Of course none of the movie companies ever heard of her or her book. The author was very angry at me and asked to be removed from all future correspondence. Last year I heard from her. In the subject box was “Been Duked”
The author went on to say:
I was one of the Airleaf victims, and I foolishly believed Brien Jones with Jones Harvest Publishing, still wanting to believe, until recently when I noticed double $500 being drawn out of my bank account, and also looking back over maxed out Credit Cards, large charges from Jones Harvest were charged. Adding up expense statements I found (and there’s many more, unfound), but it adds up to over $16,800.00 they’ve already taken from me!! I didn’t authorize all of these large sums charged! I’m sorry I let Brien talk me into you being the bad guy! You opened my eyes about Airleaf, and it should have opened my eyes about Brien… but it didn’t! I was a fool, but now my eyes are wide open!
Trust me, I don’t receive any satisfaction when authors don’t heed my warnings. I am never one to say, “I told you so,” because I was tricked not only by Airleaf, but then again with Jones. But at the first sign of fraud, I turned and ran. I posted warnings all over, but some people just didn’t want to believe—until it was much too late.
For those authors who published with Jones, they will need to republish again. As we all know, once a publisher is out of business, our books are also off the market. When the Airleaf tragedy happened, I spent six months researching other POD companies because I didn’t want to make another mistake. I had already made three of them—one with iUniverse, one with Authorhouse, and then with Airleaf. I researched nearly 40 companies thanks to the database provided by Delhana. Through this research, I found my current publisher CCB Publishing. When I called the owner, Paul Rabinovitch, I knew that he had been primarily a “traditional” publishing company. I was so impressed with his answers that I asked him if he would be willing to consider doing my books as POD. I explained the tragedy with Airleaf, and I felt reassured this would never happen with his company. Unlike POD salesmen who try to sell you more and more, Paul was a publisher who told me what the realities were with POD publishing and how to get the most exposure. There were no false promises or extra “promotions”—just honest to goodness publishing.
My first book published with CCB went incredibly smoothly. Paul worked with me every few days on any issues, and within 4 weeks, my book was in print. Since that first experience, I have had six additional books published. My sales are excellent due to the large distribution channels the CCB finds for its authors all over the world. Most of my books are now in eBook format because that is how many of my sales are made. Most importantly to me as an author—my royalties are waiting for me every three months to the day. Half of the sales revenue is mine—not 20% or 30%. I can buy my books for $2.00 over the cost of printing, which usually runs about $6.00 a book instead of 50% off the cover price like other companies were charging me.
Over 50 of our Airleaf Victims found a home with CCB Publishing. You can read all of our testimonials on their website at www.CCBPublishing.com. You can write to Paul if you have any questions at info@CCBPublishing.com. Paul usually works 20 hours a day so you never have to wait more than a passing moment to get a response—ever.
CCB’s prices are better than most—and the service, quickness, and results are better than any publisher you can ever hope for.
So that’s my latest news. If you are a Jones Harvest victim and you would like to take action to see if you can retrieve any money back or at least try to press some kind of criminal charges, please email me and let me know. I will be happy to work with you and the others who want to see if there can be some resolve.
Also, if any of you would like to be on my Books of Excellence radio show on computer radio on Sunday evenings done via telephone and heard around the world, please send me a note and I will arrange it for you as time permits.
With love to you all,
Bonnie Kaye
Monday, October 3, 2011
It looks like the end is here....
Dear Friends and Victims of JH Publishing,
I have been receiving letters from people who are customers of Jones Harvest stating that there is no way to contact them. So I did some of my own investigating and found out they were right--the website has been down for at least a week. The emails are being returned. No one is answering the phone.
As sad as it is for the authors who invested into the Brien Jones fraudulence, at least people will hopefully not be taken again and cheated.
If you hear anything, please write to me at Bonkaye@aol.com and let me know what you learn.
Hugs,
Bonnie Kaye, M.Ed.
www.Jonesharvestfraudvictims.com
I have been receiving letters from people who are customers of Jones Harvest stating that there is no way to contact them. So I did some of my own investigating and found out they were right--the website has been down for at least a week. The emails are being returned. No one is answering the phone.
As sad as it is for the authors who invested into the Brien Jones fraudulence, at least people will hopefully not be taken again and cheated.
If you hear anything, please write to me at Bonkaye@aol.com and let me know what you learn.
Hugs,
Bonnie Kaye, M.Ed.
www.Jonesharvestfraudvictims.com
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
FORMER EMPLOYEES MESSAGE TO AUTHORS
Dear Victims of Jones Harvest Publishing,
I know it's been a while since I've posted anything here because I've done everything possible to alert potential victims of Jones Harvest Publishing not to be scammed like so so many other authors were, losing thousands of dollars for services that would never be delivered or shoddy services that were performed.
I feel good that by posting my website JonesHavestFraudVictims.com that I was able to stop dozens of potential fraud victims who were smart enough to check the Internet before buying services. Yes, they have thanked me from saving them from the pain that so many of the Jones Harvest authors have suffered.
In spite of Brien Jones' efforts to defame me, lie about me, and make me the scape goat for all of his life's pains, eventually the truth surfaces when authors get robbed. As of this year, I've had authors send me letters of regret for not listening to me before they lost their hopes, dreams, and money to a company that gets by only because of the disinterest of the government of Indiana to prosecute thieves for stealing from hard working and honest people. And yes--I have proof that Jones Harvest has taken the credit cards of authors and put charges on them without permission. In fact, if you are a Jones Harvest author, I strongly suggest you check every credit card bill to see if this has happened to you.
Not only do authors continue to send me their stories, but ex-employees who finally see the true thievery of the operation also continue to contact me. Over the past two years, I have had calls and letters from six former employees. And now, I have been contacted by two more.
The latest employees who have been in touch with me are Donna Hamilton and Dan Grogan. Both of them left the company last month. Authors who call to ask for them are given incorrect information, so they have asked me to clarify the situation. Donna asked me to post this message to you:
Dear Author,
I am sending you this message to clear up any misunderstanding about my former position at Jones Harvest Publishing. A number of authors recently contacted me and stated they were being informed by the Jones Harvest staff that I was on a “leave of absence.” This is absolutely UNTRUE. I have left Jones Harvest due to my own conscience about their business practices which I refused to be part of any longer due to the distressing information that I became aware of in recent months.
Please know that it was always my intention to do an honest job for the authors that I worked with. I know how much your hard work means to you. I also know how hard you worked for the money that you invested to receive publishing and promotional services that you expected to be provided—especially when I promised you that the work you paid for would be done. At the time I sold you these services, I truly believed that you were paying for legitimate services that were being provided by the owners of the company. When I realized this wasn’t the case, I made the decision to leave.
If you have any questions and would like to contact me, please feel free to email me or write to me at dhamilton42f@yahoo.com or call me at 937-692-5736.
Donna Hamilton
I applaud Donna and Dan for taking the route that other ex-employees have taken as far as walking away from the fradulence. If you have concerns or questions, Donna would be happy to clear them up for you. Feel free to contact her.
Best regards,
Bonnie Kaye, M.Ed.
I know it's been a while since I've posted anything here because I've done everything possible to alert potential victims of Jones Harvest Publishing not to be scammed like so so many other authors were, losing thousands of dollars for services that would never be delivered or shoddy services that were performed.
I feel good that by posting my website JonesHavestFraudVictims.com that I was able to stop dozens of potential fraud victims who were smart enough to check the Internet before buying services. Yes, they have thanked me from saving them from the pain that so many of the Jones Harvest authors have suffered.
In spite of Brien Jones' efforts to defame me, lie about me, and make me the scape goat for all of his life's pains, eventually the truth surfaces when authors get robbed. As of this year, I've had authors send me letters of regret for not listening to me before they lost their hopes, dreams, and money to a company that gets by only because of the disinterest of the government of Indiana to prosecute thieves for stealing from hard working and honest people. And yes--I have proof that Jones Harvest has taken the credit cards of authors and put charges on them without permission. In fact, if you are a Jones Harvest author, I strongly suggest you check every credit card bill to see if this has happened to you.
Not only do authors continue to send me their stories, but ex-employees who finally see the true thievery of the operation also continue to contact me. Over the past two years, I have had calls and letters from six former employees. And now, I have been contacted by two more.
The latest employees who have been in touch with me are Donna Hamilton and Dan Grogan. Both of them left the company last month. Authors who call to ask for them are given incorrect information, so they have asked me to clarify the situation. Donna asked me to post this message to you:
Dear Author,
I am sending you this message to clear up any misunderstanding about my former position at Jones Harvest Publishing. A number of authors recently contacted me and stated they were being informed by the Jones Harvest staff that I was on a “leave of absence.” This is absolutely UNTRUE. I have left Jones Harvest due to my own conscience about their business practices which I refused to be part of any longer due to the distressing information that I became aware of in recent months.
Please know that it was always my intention to do an honest job for the authors that I worked with. I know how much your hard work means to you. I also know how hard you worked for the money that you invested to receive publishing and promotional services that you expected to be provided—especially when I promised you that the work you paid for would be done. At the time I sold you these services, I truly believed that you were paying for legitimate services that were being provided by the owners of the company. When I realized this wasn’t the case, I made the decision to leave.
If you have any questions and would like to contact me, please feel free to email me or write to me at dhamilton42f@yahoo.com or call me at 937-692-5736.
Donna Hamilton
I applaud Donna and Dan for taking the route that other ex-employees have taken as far as walking away from the fradulence. If you have concerns or questions, Donna would be happy to clear them up for you. Feel free to contact her.
Best regards,
Bonnie Kaye, M.Ed.
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